BIG NEWS! I am repeating my very popular and successful bootcamp, Raising Healthy Eaters. I feel really good about the fact that I launched three healthy eaters into the world and have helped hundreds of students with their kiddos. Take my course and you will be in very good hands. Here’s the info and I am even adding BONUS OFFICE HOURS if you need extra support or the class times don’t work well for you. Use the code KIDS100 for $100 OFF. Continue reading
I love giving you 15-minute recipes, but once in a while there comes a dish that is worth the extra effort. This Layered Summer Vegetable Torte is just that. Yes, you have to grill some vegetables and make a simple vinaigrette, but this is a hearty, delicious, veggie-centric showstopper. Every summer I have a few recipes that I put on repeat when I entertain at home, and this was one of my go-to’s from the Summer of 2021 and now it’s back in the rotation!Continue reading
Here’s another recipe that was deep in my archives that I still absolutely love, but needed a photo makeover! This is the time of year when I am furiously trying to maximize my consumption of all things summer.  The seasonal window for some of my favorite foods is just too short, especially tomatoes.  In my classes July through September, I always feature at least two recipes with the beloved tomato and I beg everyone to enjoy them while they last because fresh tomatoes won’t be appearing in my kitchen until the following summer.Continue reading
I’m in the home stretch, friends.  Manuscript is due on Monday which means that, although I love hanging out with you, we’re going to have to make this visit quick today because I have a boatload of writing to finish. Although if my editor is reading this post, have no fear, I am totally on schedule! 😉
How sad is it that I never had an avocado until I was in college?  Not even guacamole.  I mean, what kind of a life is that? Fast-forward I’m-not-going-to-tell-you-how-many-years later, I eat avocados almost every day.  I am crazy about the texture and flavor, and they go with everything.  Avocados are so amazing for your health — the fats are the best kind, so fresh and pure.  Recently, a few people have asked me to share my skincare regimen.  I am thinking about writing a post about it, but until then, avocados are an incredible beauty food!   Avocados can promote supple skin because they moisturize from the inside out. They are also rich in glutamine, a powerful antioxidant which can help with anti-aging.
I accept with gratitude the privilege of growing older, so I don’t want to complain about it.  But.  Every 5 years or so, I get away with less and less with respect to what I can eat.  Sure, I could exercise more.  But I’m kind of busy and I already exercise a healthy amount.  One of those foods that is over for me is the bagel.
Bagels are nothing anyone really needs in his or her life. Â They are completely devoid of nutrition and loaded with simple carbohydrates (and I mean loaded) which turn into sugar lickety split (and then the pro-inflammatory hormone insulin surges and fat gets stored.) Â Even if I were to exercise like a maniac to burn off so many carbs, there’s the fact that I don’t feel great after eating a bagel.
I just dropped off my oldest at college this past weekend.  Up until this point, nothing has made me feel as old as saying to someone, “I have a child in college.”  And it doesn’t help when people respond with, “Wow!”  Rub it in.  Thank heavens for Mr. Picky who is in elementary school and still asks me to cuddle him at night.
My daughter goes to school in Dallas.  So when I visit, I make sure to b-line for some good Tex-Mex food.  You all know my weakness is guacamole and chips.  Guacamole = healthy food.  Chips, not so much.  In LA you can find places to give you jicama with your guacamole.  In Texas, not so much.  So I try not to overdo it when I’m there, but I’m not always successful.
Although I grew up in New York, California cooking has stolen my heart. Â Lightness, freshness, color. Â It’s addictive. Â And the best avocados! Â Come visit me and we’ll have fun just prancing around the farmers markets. Â We can make this salad, which is like fancy-pants guacamole.
I taught this salad last year or the year before and it is one of my favorites. Â First of all, it takes minutes to pull together. Â Second, it includes two of my favorite foods, tomatoes and avocados, which I will remind you are both insanely delicious right now. Â Use whatever tomatoes look great and have fun mixing colors and shapes and sizes. Â Lastly, it’s basically guacamole that I can eat with a fork or on top of a piece of fish or grilled chicken and I don’t feel the need to have 25 tortilla chips along with it.
It also happens to look very pretty on a buffet. Â But tomatoes are leaving us soon, friends. Â Enjoy it ALLÂ while you can, because you’re going to blink your eyes and they’ll be gone.
optional: serve with broken corn tortilla chips on top or around the side of the salad
Instructions
Place the tomatoes, red onion and jalapeño on a platter. Arrange the avocado slices on top. Scatter the cilantro leaves all over.
Whisk together the lime juice, salt, hot sauce and oil together and drizzle all over salad. It’s best not to toss this salad, otherwise the avocados will get messy. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt if necessary. A sprinkle of flaky sea salt is nice.
Serve with tortilla chips on the perimeter of the platter or crushed on top, if desired.
Notes
The amounts for the ingredients are merely guidelines. Feel free to adjust quantities to suit your taste.
I just arrived in New York for my annual summer vacay with my parents, my sisters and their families.  We’ve descended upon my parents’ house in Long Island for a week of old fashioned backyard fun with a few trips to the beach and the ice cream parlor.  It also involves some serious menu planning for 12-16 people at any given meal.  If such persons were all adults, this task would be less challenging than if half of them were children ages 1-19.  But I love a challenge!
Sometimes for lunch we’ll make a giant composed salad where each component has its own space and I serve the dressing in a small pitcher on the side.  I notice the kids (and picky adults, in general) eat much more of a composed salad than a tossed one.  My son, Mr. Picky, can always find something to choose from a composed salad versus one that is tossed, especially if there’s one ingredient that’s offensive and touching everything else.  Touching ingredients is a deal breaker!! This version of a classic Nicoise salad is always a winner, plus it’s one of my favorite salads of all time.
The classic typically contains oil-packed tuna, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, green beans (usually the small haricot verts), Nicoise olives, and boiled potatoes. Â It’s a perfect salad for summer because it can all be prepped ahead and served cold or at room temp. Â And it’s a meal unto itself.
But I have made so many versions of this salad subbing chicken or slow-roasted salmon for the tuna or even white beans for the tuna for a vegetarian version. Â Regular string beans for the haricot verts. Â Even cucumbers have worked nicely. Â But in this version, which I call a “California Nicoise,” I sub in the very Cali avocado for the potato, because everyone seems to be watching his or her carbs lately! Â Because of the versatility of this salad, it was a hugely popular in my classes last summer with everyone — Paleo-types, vegetarians, vegans, gluten-free peeps and so on.
Visually, I think this salad is so beautiful and quite healthful, too. Â It is well balanced with high quality protein, fat and lots of veggies. Â I love using the very best tuna for this salad. Â I featured this Tonnino oil packed wild tuna in a recent Five Friday Favorites and it is perfect here. Â If you want to use standard canned tuna, just drizzle a little olive oil on top for added flavor.
Green beans can be blanched, radishes sliced and eggs boiled the day before and refrigerated. Â But again, feel free to sub other ingredients if that would make you happy. Â And if you notice more takers than usual for this salad, perhaps employ the composed method for other salads too!
⅓ cup unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces haricot verts (thin French green beans) or string beans, trimmed
2 Tablespoons kosher salt
4-6 hard-boiled large eggs,**peeled and halved lengthwise
1-2 cans high-quality tuna, preferably packed in olive oil, drained and broken into pieces
1 large avocado, cubed***
½ cup olives, preferably Niçoise
¾ pound cherry tomatoes, halved
4 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
Bibb lettuce leaves to line platter, if desired, or shredded as a bed for the lettuce
Instructions
Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a medium bowl or shake in a screw-top jar.
Prepare a bowl of ice water for the green beans. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add kosher salt. Add the beans and set a timer for 3 minutes. After beans have cooked for 3 minutes, test for tenderness. They should be crisp-tender, but not taste raw. Drain and immediately submerge in the ice water bath. Drain after 5 minutes or so and pat dry. Can be done the day before and refrigerated.
Assemble the salad by arranging ingredients in separate groups. I like to line the platter with lettuce either just under the tuna or the entire platter. Drizzle everything with dressing or leave on the side for each person to dress his/her own salad.
Notes
*Ingredient amounts can vary based on preferences. **Place uncooked eggs in a saucepan and cover with water. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Cover, turn off heat and time for 10 minutes. Rinse with cold water or transfer to a bowl of cold water. Can be done a day ahead and peeled before serving. ***the avocado is in place of the traditional boiled, small new potatoes. But use 1 pound of potatoes if you prefer.
